A luminaire is a lighting unit typically employed on a ceiling or on a lamp pole, either indoors or outdoors. The luminaire includes a ballast assembly and an optical assembly mounted to a mounting structure such as a luminaire housing door or a canopy. Specifically, the optical assembly is mounted to the ballast housing of the luminaire providing canopy-type lighting. The ballast unit has electrical components, such as a ballast. The optical assembly includes a mounting casting and a pivotally attached lens frame that supports a lens. A lamp is held within the lens and is electrically and mechanically connected to the ballast unit. Furthermore, to change the optical assembly requires uninstalling the ballast assembly
Problems arise in installing and maintaining the luminaire. The prior art luminaires are commonly difficult to install requiring the use of more than one person to complete the installation. In addition, the prior art luminaires do not allow the installer or manufacturer to wire the ballast assembly prior to assembling it with the luminaire housing door, thus eliminating the option of installing the assembly from below the mounting structure. Also, performing maintenance on known luminaires is complicated because easy access into the ballast unit is not provided, and the entire assembly may have to be disassembled.
Other problems with the prior art luminares include not having the ability to easily adapt to pre-existing canopy fixtures and not providing protection for the optical assembly from the surrounding environmental elements such a moisture and dust. Also, the prior art ballast housings of the luminaires are bulky and do not efficiently organize the electrical components therein. Similarly the prior art ballast housings do not protect the heat-sensitive electrical components from the heat-emitting components, such as the lamp socket, held within the ballast housing. Furthermore, the prior art ballast housings do not provide a way to facilitate cooling of the ballast itself held within the housing. Finally, the ballast housings of the prior art luminaires have to be employed with an optical assembly that is specifically adapted to be used with that ballast housing.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide luminaire with a mounting system that facilitates installation of the optical assembly on either a luminaire housing door or a canopy fixture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a ballast housing having dual compact compartments, an angled floor, and channels extending along the bottom of the housing for holding support rails.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a luminaire with a ballast housing that can be pre-wired and allows for easy access to the electrical components within the housing.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a luminaire that includes a gasket member for a weather tight seal between the ballast housing and the optical assembly.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a luminaire that can easily adapt to existing luminaire housings and canopy fixtures and employs a generic optical assembly.
The foregoing objects are basically attained by a ballast housing comprising a bottom wall, a sidewall extending in a first direction from the bottom wall, and a first compartment that is defined between the bottom wall and the sidewall, with a first access opening remote from the bottom wall. The housing further includes an interior wall extending from its bottom wall in the first direction and is located completely within the first compartment, and a second compartment that is defined by the interior wall and is isolated from the first compartment by the interior wall. The second compartment includes a second access opening adjacent the bottom wall. A first component can be disposed in the first compartment and a second component can be disposed in the second compartment with the second compartment isolating the second component from the first component in the first compartment.
In a second embodiment, the ballast housing further includes a first channel member extending along the bottom wall of the housing. A rail member is received in the channel member and is disposed between the bottom wall of the ballast housing and the mounting member of the optical assembly.
By designing the ballast housing in this fashion, it can be easily mounted to existing luminaire housings and canopy fixtures requiring only one person to install and maintain the assembly. In addition, an optical assembly mounted to the ballast assembly can be changed without having to uninstall the ballast assembly. Also, the design of the ballast housing creates efficient space utilization resulting in a compact housing. This ballast housing protects the heat-sensitive components in the housing from the heat-emitting components while facilitating the cooling of the ballast itself.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.